A heavy flow of Central American migrants and refugees has continued toward the U.S.-Mexico border despite intensifying obstacles to entering the United States: the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” approach to illegal border crossings; the separation of thousands of migrant families; and tightening of “credible fear” qualifications on asylum requests.

In interviews along the border last week, many described harrowing journeys from their home countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala: marching through Central American wilderness and borderlands on foot, hiding in vans through Mexican immigration checkpoints, and even riding on top of cargo trains. Back home they had left behind family members, homes and farms, because threats against their lives had made remaining untenable. Many families told The New York Times they would rather be separated from their children then send them back home.

Victor Clark-Alfaro, an adjunct professor at San Diego State University and director of the Binational Center for Human Rights in Tijuana, said that he did not believe the flow of migrants would stop. Mr. Clark-Alfaro said that in his extensive experience on the border working with migrants, an abundance of violence back home remained by far the most prevalent reason people have left their countries.

“It’s the gang violence. That is the biggest factor that is forcing them out. The economic situation is second; the violence is the primary reason,” he said. “But the gang violence goes right along with the economy. There aren’t any options.”

He said that, from his vantage point, more and more Central Americans migrants were seeking entry into the United States through legal asylum claims, rather than “crossing through the desert or the mountains like before.”

Asylum denials are especially high from Central America, from which 75 percent to 80 percent of asylum cases were denied between 2012 and 2017, according to data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

“Of everyone who is crossing, the vast majority will not get asylum,” he said. “They’re trying,” he said, because “they see this as their only shot.”

California Online

(Please note: We regularly highlight articles on news sites that have limited access for nonsubscribers.)

Image

President Trump returning to the White House after a Sunday outing at the Trump National Golf Club.CreditYuri Gripas/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

• President Trump said those who cross into the United States illegally should be sent back immediately without due process or an appearance before a judge. [The New York Times]

• California regulators pledged to immediately begin inspections at facilities where scores of immigrant children who were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border are being held. [The Los Angeles Times]

• Concord residents reacted with a mix of shock and anger after hearing reports that the federal government is eyeing the city’s shuttered naval base as a potential migrant detention camp. [The Mercury News]

• Thousands of people rallied and marched in downtown San Diego and at the border to protest the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. [The San Diego Union-Tribune]

• And in the meantime, the United States government says it has reunited 522 migrant children who were separated as part of the “zero tolerance” policy. [The New York Times]

• The Pawnee Fire scorched thousands of acres as it raged through Lake County, destroying homes and forcing evacuations. [The San Francisco Chronicle]

• A man in a condominium opened fire on San Diego police officers and firefighters, wounding two officers and prompting a SWAT operation that ended with the man’s death. [The San Diego Union-Tribune]

• At least 200 former U.S.C. students have joined lawsuits against the university, alleging it failed to heed warnings that a campus gynecologist was sexually abusing patients. [The Los Angeles Times]

• Internet-connected locks, speakers, thermostats, lights and cameras have been marketed as the newest conveniences. But now they are also being used as a means for harassment, monitoring and revenge. [The New York Times]

Image

A “ghost bike” rests next to a roadway in South Los Angeles as a part of the memorial for a cyclist killed in April.CreditMegan Miller for The New York Times

• Cyclists have long risked danger in Los Angeles, where using the bike lanes often means riding alongside speeding cars. Some are working to change that. [The New York Times]

• Three African-American construction workers say they were targeted by racial slurs and death threats, including black dolls hanging from nooses, while working on a site in San Francisco. [The New York Times]

• The independent filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom has proposed a title for herself if her husband, Gavin, is elected governor: “First Partner.” [The Mercury News]

• California voters will decide in November whether egg-laying hens must live cage free after an initiative qualified. [The Associated Press]

• H.I.V. infections among teenagers and young adults in FresnoCounty are at their highest levels in years, and there’s concern about an outbreak. [The Fresno Bee]

• Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has long resisted the idea of cutting the power on purpose. But the company is already on the hook for last year’s fires. So if the weather turns bad, customers have been warned to expect pre-emptive blackouts. [The San Francisco Chronicle]

• The hospitality industry in California has moved slowly and tentatively to embrace the use of cannabis. But some say it is only a matter of time before vaping rooms and pot-smoking patios become a standard part of hotels. [The Los Angeles Times]

• Apple has confirmed that there is a flaw in its new butterfly keyboards and will offer a free repair. [Forbes]

Image

From left, Ariadne Getty and her children, Nats and August, at Ariadne’s home in Beverly Hills.CreditEmily Berl for The New York Times

• The fabled Getty family tells The Times that they find their showbiz portrayals “demonizing,” “disgusting” and unrepresentative of their super-L.G.B.T.Q. values. [The New York Times]

• Want a window into the chef Deuki Hong’s menu at Sunday at the Museum, the new cafe at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum? Consider the fried chicken sandwich. [The New York Times]